US EditionKirby Air Riders is one of the most chaotic Nintendo Switch 2 games I’ve played, but that’s really not a bad thing – here’s my final verdict
- Kirby Air Riders arrives on Nintendo Switch 2 as a sequel to the 2003 title, developed by Bandai Namco Studios with Masahiro Sakurai's Sora Ltd. shaping its design.
- Surprisingly, the sequel appears early in the Switch 2's life despite Mario Kart World, as Nintendo backed it with two one-hour Nintendo Directs and revived a divisive 2003 GameCube original.
- Machines auto-accelerate while players steer and hold the B button to drift and charge power-ups, with a concise Lessons mode and an 11-step tutorial teaching simple but precise controls.
- City Trial returns as a crazier multiplayer highlight with up to 15 players, featuring a checklist unlock system for characters, machines, and online-visible licenses, and the reviewer expects social play in coming weeks.
- The original's low Metacritic score of 61 shows its mixed legacy, while the sequel’s 18 courses including nine retro tracks may feel repetitive despite a 4 out of 5 star rating and limited solo replay value.
30 Articles
30 Articles
'Kirby Air Riders' Is Mario Kart’s Weird, But Kind of Cool, Uncle
Mario Kart is stability — it’s that aunt and uncle who live down the street. You have dinner at their house every week, and know you can call them for anything you might need. But Kirby Air Riders is that bizarre uncle that you only see at holidays, who’s always got some crazy story about when he went to Burning Man, or a souvenir from his trip to Australia. You don’t know him very well, but you always have a good time seeing him.The original Ki…
Kirby Air Riders review: Friendship ended with Mario Kart, now Kirby is my best friend
The best way I can describe Kirby Air Riders is that it is, at its core, an intensely GameCube-coded game.For some, that might be a turn-off; why would you want to play a game reminiscent of a gimmicky console from 2001?For others – myself included – a game like Air Riders harks back to an era that may have been a bit quirky and off-kilter, but was nothing if not fun.Air Riders is a sequel to 2003's Kirby Air Ride, and unsurprisingly, it plays v…
Kirby Air Riders is one of the most chaotic Nintendo Switch 2 games I’ve played, but that’s really not a bad thing – here’s my final verdict
I glided through the chaos of Kirby Air Riders on Nintendo Switch 2, and its frenetic gameplay won me over, in spite of a few flaws.
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 67% of the sources lean Left
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
